Kolkata: Mother’s Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March or May. It complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Father’s Day and Siblings Day. Mother’s Day is observed on May 8, 2016 and this day is dedicated to all mothers and mother figures who dedicate their lives behind their family, children and society. Mothers are most important person in our life and this day appreciates a mom’s hard efforts. This day is celebrated with lot of zeal and enthusiasm all over the world; and further shower love on their mother’s. There have been some ‘Super Moms’ in sports all over the world who have made a mark in their own field as well as being a successful mother too. Lets have a look at five of the Super Moms in sports all over the world:
Sarita Devi: The life of an athlete is tough, but tougher if you’re a woman. And when you happen to be mother to a two-year-old son while playing a highly physical sport like boxing, it gets even more difficult. What sacrifices have to be made and what willpower is needed to succeed at the international level only the athlete herself can know. Ace Indian boxer Laishram Sarita Devi is one such iron lady. Sarita is a former world champion and four-time Asian champion boxer who has spent the past 15 years inside the square ring, competing, training and constantly sparring.
Kim Clijsters: The former world no.1 tennis player is a mother of a son, Jack leon Lynch and a daughter Jada Elly Lynch. Clijsters is a former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles.Clijsters won 41 WTA singles titles and 11 WTA doubles titles. She won four Grand Slam singles titles: three at the US Open, in 2005, 2009, and 2010 and one at the Australian Open in 2011. She was also runner-up in four Grand Slam singles tournaments and won the WTA Tour Championships singles title in 2002, 2003, and 2010. In doubles, she won the French Open and Wimbledon titles in 2003. She was also runner-up in two Grand Slam doubles tournaments, one WTA Championships doubles tournament, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles tournament. In 2001, Clijsters was part of the Belgium Fed Cup winning team. Clijsters announced her retirement with immediate effect on 6 May 2007, but almost two years later, on 26 March 2009, she publicly declared her intent to return to the WTA tour for the 2009 summer hard court season. In only her third tournament back, she won her second US Open title, becoming the first unseeded player and wildcard to win the tournament, the first unranked player to win a Grand Slam and the first mother to win a major since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.
Dara Torres: Dara Grace Torres (born April 15, 1967) is an American former competitive swimmer who is a twelve-time Olympic medalist and former world record-holder in three events. Torres is the first and only swimmer to represent the United States in five Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008), and, at age 41, was the oldest swimmer ever to earn a place on the U.S. Olympic team. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she competed in the 50-meter freestyle, 4×100-meter medley relay, and 4×100-meter freestyle relay, and won silver medals in all three events. Torres has won twelve Olympic medals (four gold, four silver, four bronze), one of three women with the most Olympic women’s swimming medals. She won five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics when, at age 33, she was the oldest member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Swim Team. She has also won at least one medal in each of the five Olympics in which she has competed, making her one of only a handful of Olympians to earn medals in five different Game. She has record of being twelve-time Olympic medalist and former world record-holder in three events.
M.C. Mary Kom: The 2012 Olympic bronze medalist from Manipur is the mother of three children. She is a five-time World Amateur Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. Nicknamed “Magnificent Mary”, she is the only Indian woman boxer to have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, competing in the flyweight (51 kg) category and winning the bronze medal. She has also been ranked as No. 4 AIBA World Women’s Ranking Flyweight category. She became the first Indian woman boxer to get a Gold Medal in the Asian Games in 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 26th April 2016, she was nominated by the President of India as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament.
Ashwini Nachappa: A mother of two children is an accomplished former athlete and an Indian film, actress from Karnataka, India. Nachappa gained fame around the start of the 1980s, when she outran P.T. Usha on two separate occasions. She has since been referred to as India’s FloJo, and in 1988she received the prestigious Arjuna award. Being noted as a social worker and educationist. She has also built a school. She is currently the president of the Bangalore Urban District Athletics Association. Ashwini Nachappa represented India in three South Asian Federation Games in 1984 (hosted in Nepal – won 2 silver medals), in 1986 (hosted in Bangladesh – won 2 silver medals) and in 1988 (hosted in Pakistan – won 3 gold medals), her participation in two Asian Games, one held in 1986 in South Korea (she stood 6th in long jump) and another held in 1990 in Beijing, China (she won silver medal in 4 × 100 m relay). She also represented India in two World Championships, one in 1987 in Rome (she was the member of the 4 × 400 m relay) and another in 1991 in Tokyo (she was the member of the 4 × 400 m relay). She has acted in Telugu cinema for few feature films, including her own biographical film titled Ashwini, for which she has garnered the state Nandi Award for Best Debut Actress.
